With a net worth of $420 million, Helen Yuchengco Dee, sometimes referred to as HYD, is among the 10 richest women in the Philippines.

She is president of family-held Yuchengco Group of Companies, reputedly one of the oldest conglomerates in the country with large exposures in banking, construction and insurance.

She also sits as chairperson of the flagship Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), the House of Investments and Malayan Insurance Co. (MICO), among other subsidiaries.

Born March 18, 1944, HYD took over the reins of the family-led enterprise from her father, the late Alfonso Yuchengco, in 2003. She minced no words in defending the patriarch’s decision to choose her instead of her brothers by saying she was a perfect fit for the job.

“I was already very active in all the companies at that point. I was involved in almost everything, and my dad was around at that time, so it was a breeze,” Yuchengco said.

According to her, she began working on day one after graduating in Business Management at the Assumption College. She later took her Master’s degree at the De La Salle University.

Yuchengo never ceased to fondly talk about her father’s legacies, notably upholding the value of reputation which he deemed was far greater than wealth. “We’re known to be fair, and we are strong, particularly in terms of claims servicing,” she said.

Under her stewardship, MICO introduced trailblazing innovations in the insurance sector. It was the first insurer in the country to operate a Facebook platform that enabled customers to “tackle travel, personal accident and property insurance coverage with a single click.

The firm also discerned opportunities in cybersecurity challenges. “Across the whole world, companies fear cyber threats the most and such threats are growing every day. So, that is an ongoing project for us,” Yuchengco said.

Another milestone program for MICO was to allow clients who get sick while travelling abroad to enjoy ambulance service that will take them back to the Philippines.

MICO has also explored ways to integrate artificial intelligence to forecast damage due to natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons.

“I think the biggest challenge in the coming years is that everything is going online and being digitalized. We’re trying to make our client processing more sophisticated to cut time,” Yuchengco said.

“Another challenge is that many companies must increasingly compete with non-bank and non-insurance companies offering similar services,” she added.

About her management style, Yuchengco has this to say: “I’m a very hands-on person and I usually do not require people to do anything that I cannot do myself.”

She also believes in the principles of openness and transparency. “I operate with an open office policy, so anybody can come and tell me anything at any time. I also continuously update myself by reading and talking to people, especially across the Philippines.”

Yuchengco remains upbeat about the country’s economic growth.

“We expect there will be development across the Philippines. This will mean there is opportunity for the insurance industry.”

With that mindset, the Yuchengco Group entered into a consortium developing the $11-billion Sangley Point International Airport in Sangley Point, Cavite.

Other members of the group are the Virata-led Cavitex Holdings Inc. and the Lucio Tan-owned MacroAsia Corp.

The Sangley Airport project is designed as a two-runway airport with a capacity for 75 million passengers a year, with options to build two more runways to handle up to 130 million passengers a year.

Source: Manila Standard.